All necessary preparations its
cleaning process its
accessibility for divers by
removing all potential hazards
which scuba divers may encounter
were all taken care of by MDD
employees.
The diving community chose Wied
iz-Zurrieq as the best site to
accommodate this vessel. A
diving committee selected a flat
sandy bottom 33 meters deep, 150
meters off the shore of Wied
iz-Zurrieq as the ship’s final
resting place. An Impact
assessment was carried out over
the seabed, and the site was
marked. On 2nd September 1998 Mt
Um El-Faroud was towed out off
Grand Harbor en route towards
its final destination. After the
ship was anchored on location
and kept in position by means of
a small MDD tug, Um El-Faroud
went under after nearly four
hours long wait for the ship to
fill up with sea water from 8
purposely fitted 4” sea valves.
This scene was witnessed by
thousands of people who occupied
vantage points on the shore who
undoubtedly paid their last
respects to those 9 Maltese
workers who died on that tragic
night.

The wreck of Mt Um El-Faroud
lies upright in position N 35’
49.20 / E 014’27.04 stern
closest to the inlet
approximately 8 minutes normal
underwater swim away from point
of entry following a 270’
bearing. A two year monitoring
program will keep a record of
the transformation into this
artificial reef.